


Dishonesty is the Best Policy

by Tashvasnormandy



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Complicated Relationships, F/M, Fluff and Angst, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-05-20 00:54:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14884532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashvasnormandy/pseuds/Tashvasnormandy
Summary: A series of one shots with my OC Rosa Stellata, a railroad agent who grew up in a vault in the Mojave, and her relationship with our favorite dishonest spy/sad-dad, Deacon. Not in chronological order.rosa-stellata.tumblr.com





	1. Sunset Sarsaparilla

_Railroad HQ. Evening. Just debriefed with Des about today's dead drop. Snake Eyes slips past, towards the exit, but not before tucking something into my hand. A…gold lighter? Engraved with…is that an E? Strange. Open it up, she’s tucked a note inside the top. “Meet me in the tower” Is that a drawing of a bottle cap? Is she finally gonna pay me?_

_Deacon chuckled to himself and headed up out of HQ to follow her._

——

Rosa plopped down on a crate, carefully placing two bottles on the balcony. Not too close to the edge, though. This was precious cargo. Sunset Sarsparilla; a taste of home, and near impossible to get in the Commonwealth. She had brought a crate over 6 years ago when she moved here. Once a year, on her birthday, she would drink one. There were 6 left. 

Soft footsteps on floorboards interrupted her thoughts. Deacon emerged from the dark of the stairwell. 

“You’re either going to kill me or pay me. Either way, I’m down.” Deacon grinned, as he pulled a cigarette out and lit it with her lighter. Deftly, he tossed the lighter back to her and sat down on the crate opposite her. 

“I love a willing victim,” teased Rosa, lighting up her own cig and taking a long drag. 

Deacon eyed the two bottles. “Poison? I’d like to think I’d go out in a more spectacular fashion, but if the shoe fits…” he grabbed one of the bottles and inspected the label. “Sunset Sarsparilla.” 

“Poison can still be spectacular. You ever heard of a Cloud Kiss?” Rosa grinned teasingly. She popped open the cap of her sarsparilla and drank. 

“No, but I’ll remember that next time you want a kiss.” he made a smoochy face at her and opened his bottle. Deacon gave it a sniff before gingerly taking a sip. Rosa watched his reaction. He raised an eyebrow. “Suddenly, all my ailments are cured! Is this the light at the end of the tunnel??” he mocked clutching his chest.

“It’s been nice knowing ya, D.” Rosa winked, exhaling a cloud of smoke at his face. 

He took another sip. “Kinda…cough syrupy.” 

“I’ll admit, it’s an acquired taste. But it’s easier to get in the Mojave than purified water.” her foot brushed against his leg. She felt relaxed in his presence. 

Deacon laughed,  “Remind me never to go for a visit!” he reciprocated her touch by scooting over on the crate to make room for her to sit.

“You’re not cut out for it.” she needled, as she moved over to sit by him. Her head leaned on his shoulder. His scent filled her nose, a little musky, smoky and something else she couldn’t identify. To Rosa, it felt like safety. They rarely had moments like this. 

“Clearly the tough, suave Railroad spy can’t handle a little sand.” his arm moved around her shoulder. 

Rosa grabbed another smoke and lit it up. “Don’t underestimate sand. It’ll fuck you up.” She blew a couple of smoke rings and watched as they disappeared slowly into the now night sky. “I guess I’m sleeping at HQ tonight.”

“Being a synth, I don’t need to sleep. So you can have my bunk.” Deacon gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Rosa laughed. She knew that was a probably a lie, like many things that came out of his mouth. “You laugh, but it’s true. When I stay at your place, I just close my eyes and pretend. So I don’t break your immersion.” His head turned to place a kiss on the side of her head. 

“Wow, could have fooled me.” came Rosa’s deadpan reply,  She drained the last of her sarsaparilla. “You gonna finish yours?” she eyed his half-empty bottle. 

“You have it, gorgeous”  

“What a waste. I could have saved it for my next birthday.” she teased. Kind of. 

“Wait, it’s your birthday?” he seemed genuinely surprised. Rosa debated for a moment whether to bullshit him.

“Yeah..” she replied, a little sheepishly.

“You want me to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you? Coz I can do that.” he took a deep breath, “Haa-”

“No, please don’t.” She put her finger to his lips to interrupt him.

“I didn’t even get you a present!” he replied.

“This is all I want.” she smiled and snuggled closer to him, to steal some of the warmth that radiated from him. “Just you and me, right here, right now.”

“


	2. Family Ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa's closely guarded past begins leaking when her younger brother turns up. His new allegiances may make life more complicated for her.  
> NB: "Rosa" is a fake name she adopted when she moved over to the Commonwealth.

The day was clear and crisp, with just a hint of winter chill hanging in the air. They’d made good time, setting out for the Medford Memorial Hospital at first light that morning. The road had been mercifully quiet so far, just a cluster of ferals near a broken down old bus which the pair of them had dispatched without issue. The hospital was coming into view. It looked clear so far. No ‘mutie meat bags. They might get lucky and only have to deal with a few more ferals.

Rosa didn’t often go out on field missions, however, the purpose of this one was to gather medical supplies. Only herself and Carrington had the experience and knowledge to correctly identify what was required. Later on, they hoped to train more of the field agents in different medical supplies they required, but since the Switchboard attack, no one had the capacity to take on this task. For now, she had to do it.

Deacon had volunteered to accompany her, which Rosa didn’t protest. It wasn’t in his usual scope, but she wouldn’t turn down a chance to have one of the best to watch her back. She glanced back at him. He was looking towards the sky..

“Do you hear that?” Deacon stopped so he could listen better. 

Rosa stopped too. “I hear it.” It was a thrumming, whirring sound and seemed to be rapidly approaching.

“Aaand there’s a Vertibird. So it’s our dear old friends from the Brotherhood.” remarked Deacon. He was pointing towards the hospital, where, sure enough, a vertibird was approaching. 

“Well that’s just fucking great.” Rosa sighed. Not even a couple of weeks ago, they had rolled in on their giant gas balloon thing. Rosa only knew a little about the Brotherhood; their presence in the Mojave was minimal, having been driven out by the NCR. She also knew they had a stronger presence further west in New California. From what Deacon had told her, their presence here did not bode well for the Commonwealth and less so for the Railroad and their synth liberation efforts. 

“Oh, I’m sure this will go swimmingly. We’ll grab a coffee, get mani-pedis, whatever friends do these days.” Deacon bantered, while moving ahead of her to take point. The vertibird carefully descended to land about 20 feet away from the hospital. Two power-armor clad troops hopped out, followed by a third clad in dark red robes. 

“I have not walked all this way for a couple of bucketheads to stop me.” Rosa continued on stubbornly towards the hospital. 

“Halt, civilian!” one of the soldiers stepped forward and addressed them, “State your business.”

“Uh, we live here.” Rosa replied, barely concealing the sass in her tone.

“What the lady said.” Deacon chimed in, “You wouldn’t kick us out of our humble abode, would you?” he gestured towards the not so humble and rather large hospital building.

“Speak truthfully, civilian.” the soldier gripped his rifle. Rosa saw Deacon prepared to pull his if required. 

“Wait, sir..” the other buckethead stepped forward and took off his helmet. “Effie??”

The name she hadn’t been called in nine years rang in her ears; Rosa barely kept the surprise from her face. Ty. Her little brother. “What the fuck?? What are you doing here?” 

“I could ask the same of you.” Ty responded, holstering his rifle. 

“Knight, do explain what’s going on…”

“Sorry, sir. Uh, this is my sister.” 

“We have a mission to complete, knight. Keep your personal business separate.”

“Zip it, buckethead.” Rosa snapped at the helmeted soldier.

“Your sister? The plot thickens…” Piped up Deacon. His tone was light but he was still on guard.

“That’s ‘paladin’ to you, civilian.” He bristled, “You would do well to use the correct form of address.”

“Oh, is that a threat, bolt brains?” Rosa stuck her chin out defiantly. The paladin raised his rifle at her.

“Effs…Calm down.” Ty looked exasperated, clearly torn between maintaining deference to his superior officer and defusing the situation.

Deacon stepped in the middle of them. “OK, OK, how about we discuss this…confusing situation over a nice cup of coffee…or motor oil, whatever you guys like to drink.”

_Deacon was right… Deep breath, no need to get into a confrontation with a walking jungle gym…_ “ Fine, but we have shit to do first.” She pulled a scrap of paper and a pencil out of her pocket and scrawled “Third Rail” on it before folding it up and stuffing it in Ty’s armored hand. “We’ll talk later, Ty. Without your friends.” She glared at the paladin before walking away towards the hospital entrance.

“Well this was pleasant.” Deacon followed behind her. “And insightful. Ain’t family a kick in the head?” He added when he was out of earshot of the others.

Rosa was rattled. This was literally the last thing she ever expected to happen. “Not in the mood, Dea.” She replied, curtly.

“Noted,” replied Deacon, knowing when not to push her. He pushed open the main door, “We should make this quick.”


	3. Switchboard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set during and after the Institute's attack on the Switchboard. Extra angsty.  
> CONTENT WARNING:  
> Pregnancy/Miscarriage  
> Mention of abortion

It seemed like any other day. Rosa was in at HQ; there were a couple of synths needing facial reconstruction and Carrington needed her assistance during surgery. She also had a favor to ask of him; access to his ultrasound machine. She'd been feeling 'off' lately, nauseous, bloated, and she'd missed her last two periods. She already knew what was happening as this wasn't the first time she had experienced this. But Rosa just wanted confirmation. After putting it off for weeks, she'd finally decided to confront the issue. If she decided to terminate, it needed to be done quickly. It had been an easy decision the last two times - she didn't want to have babies to unknown men she'd fucked for money. This time it was not such an easy decision...

While Carrington was briefing her on the dead drops that would be incoming, the alarms sounded.

"It's the institute!" rang out Desdemona's voice.

"I got this, follow me!" Deacon called out, calmly. "We're going out the tunnels. Those who are armed, take the rear." he grabbed his rifle and began directing people out the back.

Rosa had barely made it to the door when an explosion knocked her over. She fell forward onto a crate. She was dazed for a moment, the wind knocked out of her. Her ears rang from the explosion, but she could hear the robotic voices of the Gen 1s or 2s; she couldn't discern which. _I have to keep going,_ she thought, trying to get up. A wave of cramping pain in her abdomen nearly made her vomit. She glanced back. It was a war zone. Laser blasts, smoke everywhere, and a couple of crumpled bodies. Glory was sprinting through the foray, running towards Rosa, and the door, "I can't-" Rosa barely managed to gasp. 

"I got you." Glory threw a grenade over her shoulder towards a cluster of synths and knelt down, throwing Rosa over her shoulder. Rosa cried out as the pain ripped through her again, searing like fire.

Glory was running as fast as she could. Everything was a blur to Rosa, only the pain piercing through her consciousness. She must have been going into shock because she passed out. 

\----

When Rosa came to, it was dark out. Only a lantern in the corner of the room provided some light. The pain was dulled, probably thanks to painkillers given how fuzzy her head felt. Just a residual throb seemingly all over her abdomen. Between her legs felt wet and uncomfortable. With stiff arms, she reached down to find the source of the wetness; her fingers emerged bright red with blood. "Fuck..no.." tears stung in her eyes. Carrington, clearing having heard her voice, emerged from the doorway. She hid her blood covered hand.

"You're awake, that's promising." he knelt down, beginning to take some observations. "You got lucky. I'll have to wait until we can get somewhere with proper equipment, but your obs have remained stable." Carrington stood up, "I'll let Desdemona know you're awake." he left the room.

Rosa didn't feel lucky. She felt empty.

Des entered the room. "Looks like the cards were in your favor today, Snake Eyes." she sat down and lit up a cigarette. "We lost a lot of people today. I'm glad you weren't one of them."

Rosa just nodded, saying nothing. 

"I won't ask how you're feeling. I imagine the answer is probably like shit." she took a long drag on her smoke and exhaled deeply, "Carrington filled me in on your condition, though he was evasive on the specifics. Something about doctor-patient confidentiality. But I can read between the lines. How far along were you?"

"About 2 or 3 months..." Rosa replied, voice crackling. Her lips felt parched.

"I'm sorry." Des grabbed a container of purified water and handed it to Rosa, "Did Deacon know?"

Rosa took the water gladly and drank deeply. "No." 

"Were you going to tell him?" Des inquired, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, but I guess it doesn't matter now." 

"Perhaps not. But it's up to you." Des finished her cigarette. "In the meantime, give yourself a break. Take as long as you need." she stood up as if to leave.

"I think I'd like to keep myself busy." 

"If you're sure." Des paused at the doorway. "I won't decline the help. Once Carrington gives you the all clear, of course." 

"Thanks, Des." Rosa finished the can of water and curled up on the mattress as Des left the room.  

 _It was for the best. I can't be a mom, he can't be a dad._ The two of them lived dangerous lives, and the attack on the Switchboard made this clear. Rosa closed her eyes, tears slowly began streaming down onto her pillow. _It's for the best..._

 


	4. Atom Bomb Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some cute fluff

_Uh…up next on Diamond City Radio we’ve got…a special request…or a dedication…I don’t get these very often…or at all._

…

_Atom Bomb Baby by the Five Stars. A great track… From Shades, appropriately named, one might say. For his Desert Rose._

…

_Anyway, here you go._

The familiar intro sounded.

_Got a doll baby, I love her so…_

Rosa felt her stomach flutter but her well practiced poker face didn’t betray her mood. She paused after finishing the current suture on her patient.

“Something wrong?” Carrington queried, noticing her pause.

_No one else like her anywhere you go_

“Just admiring my work.” Rosa lied. Her sutures were wonderful, but that wasn’t what was on her mind.

“Looking at it won’t make it any faster,” he snipped.

_Man, she’s anything but calm_

No one’s ever dedicated a song to you on the radio, you grump, Rosa wanted to say, but held her tongue and continued stitching.

_A regular pint-sized atom bomb!_


	5. Glasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first mission together. Silly banter, that turns very flirty.

The road had been deadly quiet for their whole journey. It was only fitting they finally ran into someone. There was only one lone raider to take out that they could see. Deacon knelt down to take his shot. Rosa got her syringer ready, just in case. No sooner had he taken the shot, when another pierced the air, hitting Deacon in the shoulder. He yelled out.  

 

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Rosa turned in the direction of the other shot, locating another raider and fired her syringer. The needle stuck fast into his chest. Within moments, the raider began convulsing, dropping to the ground like a sack of tatoes. Rosa scanned the area and upon finding it to be clear, turned her attention to Deacon. At the joint of his shoulder was a freely bleeding wound - it had ripped through his coat, and as far as she could tell, just happened to be a particularly deep graze. She grabbed a gauze pad from her pack. “Hold this on it. We gotta get somewhere safe.”

“The safehouse isn't too far away. I should be fine.” Deacon grimaced, putting his hand up onto the gauze.

They arrived at the safehouse as it began to get dark. After exchanging passphrases, Deacon and Rosa got set up in the kitchen area. Deacon sat down and carefully removed his coat, while Rosa got some water boiling. She soaked the gauze in the water. 

“Boy, am I glad I brought you along.”

“Was this a ploy to get up close and personal with me?” Rosa grinned, leaning down to begin cleaning out his bullet wound. She couldn’t help but noticed how nice his arms were in his tank top. 

“Of course. Getting myself shot has always been my favorite pick-up tactic.” Deacon grinned back. 

“And how’s that worked out for you before?”

“Not so great. Yet.” A cheeky waggle of his eyebrows was evident under his glasses, “Ow...” he winced, as she cleaned a little deeper. 

“Sorry.” Rosa examined the wound as best she could. There was still a lot of bleeding, “You’re gonna need some stitches.”

“Can’t you just slap a stimpack on it?”

“I could, but I’d still be leaving the wound open and ripe for infection. You’ll also have more scar tissue, and resulting issues with moving your shoulder” 

“Then I’ll defer to your superior knowledge, doc.”

“I have Med-X, so it shouldn’t hurt. Too much.”

“Am I hallucinating, or did you sound...happy?”

“Guess you’ll find out.”  Rosa got the Med-X ready, “Alright, just a few small pinches.” she carefully injected the Med-X into various spots around the wound. While she waited for it to take effect, she got her suture kit ready. 

“That was...not fun.” 

“It’s not supposed to be fun. At least not for you.” she began stitching.

“You know you’re a little terrifying, right?” 

“Thanks.”

Deacon laughed. “I need to bring you along more often.”

“You’ll need me if you’re gonna make a habit of getting shot.” 

“I mean, I could get used to this - liberal use of pain meds, a distinct lack of disdain, and a pretty face to boot. Carrington had better watch out.” Deacon chuckled, “Oh,  _and_ you’re handy with a rifle.”

“I’ll tell him you said that. I love putting him in a great mood for you guys.”

“Come to think of it, he has gotten grumpier since you joined us.” 

“Pissing off uptight old men seems to come naturally to me.” By the time Rosa finished her sutures, it was dark outside. “All done, hotshot. How’re you feeling?”

“Deep existential dread and despair, but otherwise ok.” 

“OK, I’m not a brain doc so all I can offer you for that is some whiskey. It seems to work for me.”  

“After the day we’ve had, some doctor endorsed whiskey sounds perfect.” 

Rosa giggled, pulling out the bottle in her bag. She grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and poured out two generous glugs. “Drink up. Doctors orders.”

Deacon took a big sip. “Oh, shit that’s good.”

Rosa sipped slowly on her own mug, savoring the burn, “Do you ever take the glasses off?”

“Baby, I crawled out of the womb with these.” Deacon jested, tapping the side of them with his free hand. 

“Uh huh.” Rosa leaned forward and gently took them off. A pair of bright blue eyes met hers. “Damn, Deacs, you could dazzle someone with those.” she grinned. Despite their vivid color, his eyes were soft, with smile lines crinkling their corners. 

“See why I keep them under wraps. It’s for the good of the world.” he winked and sipped from his mug.

“Commonwealth’s just gonna have to deal.” Rosa sat back in her chair and put the glasses on herself.

“That’s just unfair.”

“What?” Rosa grinned, draining the last of her cup. Her tolerance was so low now, and she could feel a slight buzz coming on just from the one (arguably large) serving. 

“They look so much better on you.” 

Rosa just giggled and leaned towards him again.  _This is probably a bad idea, but fuck it_. This time her lips meet his. Deacon seemed taken aback initially, but reciprocated. The softness of his mouth contrasted with the roughness of his chin stubble and drove Rosa closer towards his warmth. Her hand touched his chest, taking in the pounding of his heart. It seemed to last an eternity but ended too soon as they both came up for air. 

Rosa took off the glasses and their eyes met again. Wordlessly, Deacon stood up, lifting Rosa up from the stool and onto the kitchen counter. She could smell the whiskey on his breath and she kissed him again, hungrily. 

He pulled away again, just enough to whisper, “You want this? You want me, right?” 

This momentary glimpse of what seemed to be insecurity stood out to Rosa. “I do. Do you?” 

“Yeah, it’s just..it’s been a while,” he replied, a little awkwardly.

“There’s no rush, I’m not going anywhere,” Rosa reassured him. There was a vulnerability to Deacon right now that she’d never seen or even thought would exist. She knew better than to needle it; she had her own issues when it came to intimacy. As long as they were both okay with what was happening. 

“Let’s, uh, find the bedroom. I feel a bit exposed here.” he picked her up again and carried her towards the bedroom. 


	6. Do-over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A third part to the last two chapters

It had been a busy day. Rosa was finally savoring a moment of peace and quiet that seemed to be a rare occurrence lately. She was curled up in her favorite chair, with a fresh copy of the DC Journal of Medicine (or as fresh as they could get in a post-apocalyptic wasteland). They were harder to get up here in the Commonwealth; luckily she’d sweet talked a caravaneer in Bunker Hill into giving her a discount. Rosa had such little time lately to just stop and read. She was less than pleased when a knock on the door interrupted her quiet time.

“Clinic’s closed!” she yelled. 

No response. Then came the sound of the lock being picked...

“Oh for fucks sake...” Rosa got up from her seat and grabbed the pistol she kept in the cabinet drawer. She pointed it at the door and waited. “If you break in here after hours, you’ll get the exact opposite of what I usually offer. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

The lock clicked open. Rosa hovered her finger over the trigger. The door slowly opened. “Don’t shoot me...please.” Deacon popped his head through the door. 

“Deacon, what the fuck?!” she lowered the pistol and gently placed it on the cabinet shelf, “What do you want? Here to make another mistake?” she crossed her arms, keeping her voice chilly. After last time, she was not too thrilled to see him.

He stepped inside and held up a bottle of wine. “I was an asshole. I handled my shit badly.”

“Is this an apology?” Rosa let her arms drop to her sides. If he’d come to apologize, she felt a bit more receptive to a visit.

“It is.” he gave her a cautious smile. 

“You're a fucking liar, why should I believe you?” 

He took off his glasses. “Not about this. Trust me.” His eyes met her own. Just like the other night. 

“Oh, you’re trying the ‘dazzle’ on me.” Rosa kept her poker face, although her tone lightened.

“I’m being serious right now. I’d like a do-over. I had fun with you. Dare I say it, I felt I could let my guard down around you, just a little bit.” he moved closer towards her. “And I liked that.” Tentatively, he placed one arm around her waist. 

“And, dare I say, I felt the same.” she didn’t move his arm away. In fact, she loved it being there. “So, maybe I’ll let you have a do-over.”

“I live my life in ‘maybes’, beautiful.” he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, “Nothing in life is certain, I know all too well.” his eyes looked momentarily sad. 

“You lost someone special, didn’t you?” It would explain a lot about how he’d behaved the last time they saw each other. 

“You trying some kind of brain-doctor stuff on me?” Deacon deflected.

“I wish I knew that stuff, then I could use it on myself.” Rosa sighed and hopped up to sit on the counter, “Truth is, I’ve seen a lot of broken people in my time. You can only hide so much before something cracks the surface.” 

“I didn’t break in here to get psychoanalyzed.”

“You broke into my house because I broke into your deep-seated psychological issues.” However true that might have been, saying it out loud sounded so ridiculous that Rosa couldn’t keep a straight face and burst out laughing. Deacon cut off her laughter with his lips, firm and insistent against her own. And oh so warm. She melted a little, reciprocating eagerly.

He pulled away, panting slightly, “That..let’s do more of that, and less trying to find gaps in my defenses.”

“Both are fun, though.” Rosa grinned and nipped gently at his lower lip.

He groaned softly, “For you, maybe. I feel like I’m at a disadvantage.” 

“Even after stalking me for weeks?” she teased. All that time spent pretending to be a homeless guy on the street outside her clinic, surely he’d know a lot about her. 

“It wasn’t stalking, it was ‘gathering intel’ and I only learned enough to know that you’re Railroad material. You’re a closed book, otherwise.” 

“OK. Quid pro quo.” Rosa figured it was time for that wine, for a bit of dutch-courage. She reached for the bottle and downed a big gulp. It was red, over 200 years old and sure tasted that way. But it didn’t matter; alcohol was alcohol. “I don’t let people get close because I’m terrified of getting hurt.” Another large gulp of wine followed. Enough to take the edge off. Opening up was hard. 

“You’re letting me get close.” he wiggled a little closer to her.

“Am I? Or am I pretending? I used to do this kind of thing for a living back in Vegas. I was good at it” 

“This kind of thing?” Deacon raised an eyebrow.

“Companionship.” she made air-quotes with her fingers, “Making men think I cared about them enough to want to fuck them.” Rosa purposefully didn’t meet his eyes. She’d never discussed this aspect of her life with anyone since leaving the Mojave. A pit of anxiety welled in her stomach about how he would react. He was going to run, she just fucking knew it...   

“Huh...” Deacon looked thoughtful like he was processing the information she had just volunteered. 

“Yeah. So, that’s me. Damaged goods.”  Rosa looked down, feeling that familiar cold sting of shame and awkwardness, “ Must make you think twice now..” 

“Are you expecting me to be put off? Coz I’m not.” he tipped her chin back up gently to face him, “We’ve all got shit in our pasts that has brought us to where we are today.” he kissed her again, with her face cupped in his hand. What had just moments before seemed like insurmountable anxiety dissipated, leaving just a rush of giddiness and relief.

“You want some of this?” Rosa held up the wine bottle, which was about two thirds full still. “Coz at the rate I’m going, there won’t be much left for you.” She took another swig. 

“Right now, I only want you.” he nuzzled his face into her neck and inhaled deeply.

“That’s so sappy, Dea, you’re making me sick.” she jokingly made a retching face.

“I have my moments.” his voice was muffled against her and his lips tickled her bare skin.

“You’d better not make me regret telling you this shit..” her fingers idly stroked the top of his bald head. A light layer of ginger fuzz covered it.

Deacon looked back up, right into her eyes again, “I promise. I’ll add it onto my big pile of secrets I’ll never tell."

“I’ve had enough of stupid feelings and stuff. Just shut up and kiss me again.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. 


	7. All In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the fall of the Institute...

> _“You know I like to gamble, but what you don’t know is that it’s how I was brought up. I left the safety of the vault I was raised in, went all in and lost. Bigtime. I lost myself in the bright lights of New Vegas; sex, chems, gangs, and caps Eventually, I hit rock bottom and had nothing left to lose._
> 
> _So I took another gamble. Stole a whole lot of caps from the Omertas and ran away here to the Commonwealth. I’m still alive, I’m doing great, I’ve been a part of something I can be proud of. I’ve helped so many people._
> 
> _But in my personal life, I’ve been staying my hand and playing it safe for so many years. With the Institute gone, I’m ready to take a risk again. What I want you to know is...I’m all in. Me and you. I want to give this a shot._
> 
> _If I lose again, so fucking be it. I’ve picked myself up again from worse...”_

\- a tape, left in Deacon’s coat pocket. Because why bare your soul face to face when you can make a tape, leave it and run away for a bit, sparing yourself just in case his reaction isn’t what you want it to be?

He knows her too well by now. He knows her haunts and hideouts. What they haven’t actually expressed in words, they’ve shown by actions. Five years, maybe more, of being in each other's orbits counts for a lot. 

He finds her up in the bell tower of the Old North Church. They sit together in silence for an achingly long time. She doesn’t want to be the first to speak. 

“I want to tell you about someone.” he breaks the silence, proceeding to tell her about his time in the UP Deathclaws, then about Barbara. How he met her, fell in love and had it cruelly torn away. Rosa just listened in silence. 

When he finally finished, he was quiet, head down. It was now that Rosa chose to speak, “She sounded wonderful.”

“She was. So sweet and so kind. There was a happiness that radiated from her. It was infectious.” he was smiling, but there was a sad reminiscence behind it. 

“I wish I could be that for you.” Rosa said quietly, tears forming in her eyes, “But I’m too fucked up, too angry.” she looked down apprehensively.

“You think I’m not fucked up and angry too? I’m not the same man that Barbara loved all those years ago.” his hand reached for hers, engulfing it in a squeeze of warmth.

Rosa had no idea how to respond to that, she just grasped his hand back as tight as she could muster.

“I’ve been putting you through the wringer emotionally. You don’t deserve that.” he brought her hand up to his lips, softly kissing her fingers before resting his chin on their joined hands, “I’ve never been much of a gambling man, but, to answer your question, I’m all in too.”  


	8. The Cocktail Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One-shot fluff, set post-FO4. From a prompt list of TS Elliot quotes.

**“Your burden is not to clear your conscience, but to learn how to bear the burdens on your conscience.”**

“That sounds familiar. You been raiding my book stash again, Rosie?” Deacon grinned at her, peering down over his glasses. Not many people got away with calling her Rosie, but he usually only called her it when they were alone. When they were alone, she wasn’t Snake Eyes the Railroad Agent, she was just his Rosie. That distinction between business and personal lives was important to them both. More so now that they were openly a couple.

“It’s not like there’s a lot else to do.” Rosa shrugged and sank further down into her favorite spot on the sofa, “That line in particular just stuck with me.” It reminded her of him and how far he’d come since they first became involved with each other.

Deacon nodded, “The Cocktail Party, T.S. Elliot.” he was already close to her, but scooted even closer so he was right up against her. His lips brushed against her ear and he whispered, “You’re very sexy when you’re quoting old literature…”

His breath tickled her, sending a chill right down her spine, “Am I not sexy all the time?” she teased, feigning offense.

“Of course, I’m just a sucker for a beautiful lady who has a way with beautiful words.” his lips trailed down to place kisses along her neck.

“Then I guess I’m a sucker for liars with huge…book collections.” she grinned and rolled her head to the side. He sure knew how to make her melt.

He paused, “If you were only sexy when you’re being poetic, that right there would have shattered the illusion.” 

“Don’t you dare stop now…” Rosa breathed

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” he lightly nipped at her dreamy soft skin, eliciting a small hiss. He had to admit, when they were alone together like this, he loved when her bossiness came out. Deacon never thought he’d be close to someone else again. But his Rosie had got into his head. He’d been an idiot to fight it for as long as he did. And perhaps, she had been equally foolish to keep pursuing him. But it had all worked out. He moved further up to kiss along her jaw. She turned her head to meet his lips in a slow, soft kiss. Her lips were so soft and giving yet her kiss was hungry and full of need. He pulled away to look at her face.

“Glasses off, hotshot.” she grinned at him and bit her lip. It was always one of their ground rules, right from the start. Initially, Rosa just liked having the power to get him to take them off, now she liked to see his eyes and the way they crinkled at the corners when he smiled at her. 

"As you wish.” he out the glasses aside and pulled her up onto his lap. 


	9. Pulowski Shelter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt on tumblr was: "OC and companion stuck in a Pulowski shelter!"  
> It got smutty...  
> NSFW warning.

“Quick, in here!” Deacon suddenly yanked her into one of those blue tube shelter things. Rosa didn’t protest. He shut the door and braced against it, panting hard from the exertion of running from the super mutants. 

“Will this thing hold?!” Rosa leaned against the wall, also panting. 

“Supposedly these things were designed to withstand a nuke. A mutie shouldn’t stand a chance.” Deacon flashed that cheeky grin of his. 

“I don’t appreciate your lack of certainty here!!” Rosa’s voice was shrill from fear. 

“It’s the best plan I had. All other plans ended in certain death.” he shrugged.

Rosa opened her mouth to cuss him out but was interrupted by the loud taunts of the super mutants just outside. Deacon put his finger up to her lips to shush her, a gesture which would normally set off her fiery temper but in the current circumstances, she froze.

“WHERE DID YOU GO??” the sound of shuffling could be heard outside. 

“FACE ME, YOU COWARDS!” The muties gruff voice made the walls of the shelter shake. 

Rosa’s eyes were wide and staring right into Deacon’s sunglasses-covered eyes. The situation could go two ways; either the muties moved on, or the two of them would become a tasty, packaged snack inside the shelter. 

It seemed to be the former, as the grumbling of the mutants began to grow distant. Eventually, it trailed off completely. They both breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well,” Deacon said, “that certainly got the blood pumping.” In the cramped shelter, he was right up against her.

“I can think of far better ways to get a thrill that doesn’t involve running from muties.” Rosa sniped. She went to pull the door open only to find that it was stuck, “Piece of shit…” she cursed and tugged harder on the door.

“Let me try.” Rosa moved aside so Deacon could attempt to open it. His muscles tensed as he pulled but to no avail. 

“Fucking fuck!” Rosa kicked the door in frustration. 

“That’s…not helpful, Rosie.” Deacon teased.

“You got a better idea?” she snapped. Rosa wasn’t usually claustrophobic, but this was an exceptionally small space and it was putting her on edge.

Deacon sensed her building anxiety. “Yep.” he murmured, tipping her chin up to face him and kissing her softly on the lips, “You’re gonna burn us up in here with that temper of yours.” Deacon teased, kissing her again and biting gently on her lower lip. Rosa gasped softly against his mouth.

“We’re really gonna do this in here?” she couldn’t help but grin at this ridiculous scenario.

“We’re alone. Might as well make the best of the situation…” he buried his face in her neck, causing Rosa to arch her back, pressing flush against him. 

“I guess there’s no one else I’d rather be trapped in a bomb shelter with.” she grinned, tugging at the hem of his t-shirt.

Deacon pulled off his shirt, showing his lightly muscled torso, with a smattering of scars and reddish hair. Her hands traced the freckles on his shoulders. “Now that’s about the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. I should get trapped with you more often!”

“You should shut your damn mouth.” she stood up on the tips of her toes and kissed him hard, whilst undoing the fly of her jeans. Not an easy feat, and sometimes she cursed herself for being so fucking short; it wasn’t easy being the dominant one when you’re only 5 foot nothing.

“Why shut it when I can put it to good use instead?” he grinned at her in that giddy way that only she got to see. Deacon knelt down on his knees and disappeared under her skirt, his hands moving up her thighs to her ass, pushing her upwards against the wall and onto his shoulders. Rosa let out a low moan as his tongue found its way to her clit. 

“You magic-tongued bastard…” Rosa’s breath was ragged as he continued to work her, changing up his speed and intensity until her legs turned to jelly. The climax washed over her in waves. She couldn’t help but yell his name loudly. 

Deacon popped his head up from under her skirt, his chin wet and lips turned up in a satisfied grin. Rosa carefully got her footing back on the ground, holding onto the wall for support. 

“Feeling better?” Deacon stood up, sweeping Rosa into a tender kiss. She could taste herself on him. 

“Much.” she grinned and bit her lip. 

Suddenly, the peppy music played over the tinny speakers inside the shelter and the door slid open. 

“Well, well well.” came a familiar low gravelly voice. Mayor Hancock. “Having fun in there without me?”

“Not that I’m ungrateful but… how did you find us?” Rosa stepped out of the shelter after a slightly sheepish looking Deacon. 

“I saw you two running from those mutants. Thought I’d lend some firepower, but sounds like you had enough fire of your own.” the ghoul mayor grinned. 

“How long were you waiting out there??” Deacon looked a little flushed in the cheeks. 

Hancock laughed, “Relax, Deacs, I didn’t wanna interrupt you two crazy kids and your fun time.” 

“Thanks, Hancock.” Rosa gave him a wink, “Let’s get out of here. Dez will be wondering where we got to.”


	10. Breathe Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some hurt/comfort.  
> It's hard to escape from the past...

Rosa wandered through the dimly lit catacomb. It looked like HQ, but something was…off. There was absolutely no one else here. The lighting was dimmer than usual, lending an eerie feel to the already creepy tomb. A chill ran down Rosa’s spine, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up. Something was very wrong.

Heavy footsteps broke the silence. A figure came into view at the front entrance. Tall, dressed in a long coat of some sort. In the dingy light, she couldn’t yet make out who it was, but the coat looked familiar…

As the figure came further into the light, icy cold fear gripped her. A courser. She reached for the knives at her hip only to find they weren’t there. Desperately,  Rosa looked around for a weapon. Tom’s desk would have one. She dashed over to it. Nothing. This couldn’t be happening… panic welled up as the figure strode closer. 

She glimpsed his face and her anxiety intensified. Cachino. What was he doing here? Surely he hadn’t tracked her all the way here from Vegas, after all these years? Why was he dressed like a courser? Had the Institute finally got her?

“What the fuck are you doing here?” her voice came out hoarse and shaky. 

“Taking back what’s mine” he grinned, that lecherous fucking grin that she found so repellant. Rosa stepped back, only to find her back against the wall. She balled her fists, ready to fight. 

He lunged for her, gripping her by the forearm. Rosa screamed, then suddenly everything got darker, with only a soft glow of orange light in one corner of the room.

“Hey, hey…calm down, you’re safe.” Deacons voice was low and soft against her ear, and his arms firmly wrapped around her. Still in the grips of terror, she instinctively writhed around to escape. 

“No, no, no, he’s gonna kill me!” she couldn’t get away. Her heart raced as she seemingly fought for her life.

“You’re at your house, in Goodneighbor, in your bed,” his voice even and calm to try and bring her back to reality, “It’s me, Deacon. You’re safe with me.” Deacon gently stroked her hair. Rosa began to calm down and become aware of the surroundings. It was just a bad dream. 

“I need a drink…” she sat up, breath still ragged. She leaned over to her bedside cabinet where a bottle of wine was stashed. Not her usual poison, but it would do in a pinch. She didn’t trust her legs to carry her right now. After hastily unscrewing the bottle, she took a long drink. 

“Who was he?” Deacon enquired softly, sitting up and putting an arm around her shoulders. Rosa leaned her head against him. His presence was, as always, reassuring. If only it was enough to stop her nightmares.

“Someone who hurt me. A long time ago.” Rosa sighed, brushing her sweat-soaked hair off her face. She hated feeling vulnerable, even around Deacon. 

“If he’s got a skull, I can easily put a bullet in it.” his voice had a touch of coldness to it. 

“It’s been years. Maybe someone’s done it already.” Rosa mused, swigging some more wine. 

“If you want me to, just say the word and I’ll do it.” Deacon nuzzled his face into her neck.

“Go all the way to Vegas? Into a casino filled with armed gangsters?” she called his bluff. It was far too much to ask of him. She wasn’t even sure if she herself wanted to confront this. 

“If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it.” he murmured.

Rosa didn’t know how to respond to that. Surely he was just talking tough to make her feel better. 

“It doesn’t take away the pain, but it’s… cathartic.” Deacon continued, his arms pulling around her waist. She knew he was talking about what happened after Barbara was killed. “That sounds really messed up when you think about it, doesn’t it?” he added quickly.

“It’s pretty fucked up, Deacs.” Rosa agreed. By now, she’d polished off most of the wine and was feeling a bit more relaxed. 

“I’m very fucked up, Rosie.” 

“That makes two of us.” One last swig and the wine was finished. Not enough to forget, but enough to take the edge off. She laid back down, even though there was little chance of her going back to sleep.

They were both quiet for a long time. Finally, Deacon broke the silence again, “I mean it, Rosie. I’ll ruin anyone who causes you pain.”

“I know, mi amado, I’d do the same.” she smiled and curled up against his chest. She felt him kiss the top of her head. 


End file.
